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Wealth linked to lying, cheating and crime

MARK COLVIN: It's one of those research reports that just looks designed to stir up controversy.

A study by US researchers suggests that the wealthier you are the more likely you are to lie, cheat and break the law.

Kylie Simmonds has this report.

KYLIE SIMMONDS: If you drive a bomb you might have noticed this before.

PAUL PIFF: We looked at whether someone was driving a Mercedes or a less fancy car like a Corolla or a Civic from the 80s and used that to see whether drivers of more expensive vehicles were actually more inclined to break the law while driving by, for instance cutting off other cars at a four way intersection and indeed they were.

They were four times more likely to do that than drivers of less expensive vehicles.

Paul Piff is a researcher at the University of California Berkeley.

His study found the upper class are more likely than poorer people to break road rules. They are also more likely to pinch lollies from children and lie for financial gain.

PAUL PIFF: We had participants play a game where we said the computer's going to virtually roll a die for you five times and please keep track of your score because the higher your score is, the better your chances are of winning a cash prize and you're going to have to report your total score at the end of the game.

Now what participants didn't know that we knew is that the game was rigged so everyone’s score would equal 12. So anyone who over-reported their score, by reporting a total score of more than 12, we knew was cheating.

KYLIE SIMMONDS: The reason for this appears to be a heightened sense of entitlement, the desire to put their own interests above others, plus a dose of good old-fashioned greed.

PAUL PIFF: Wealthier individuals, who, by definition have more money, are also more likely to afford lawyers or to be able to pay for the downstream consequences of unethical behaviour.

They're also less likely to see the kinds of risks that are associated with acting unethically. But what we highlight in this paper is that individuals from the upper echelons of society are more likely to think that the pursuit of self-interest and greed is a moral and positive thing.

And it's as a result of those more favourable attitudes towards greed that they're actually more inclined to behave unethically.

KYLIE SIMMONDS: History shows greed has long been seen as a motivation for wealth. But Dr Simon Longstaff from the St James Ethics Centre says it's not the only reason people feel important.

SIMON LONGSTAFF: It's always been more than just money; I mean it's anything that gives you a special status to say that you are beyond the pack. So it can be celebrity, it can be an inherited title.

KYLIE SIMMONDS: There's also that saying, money changes everything.

SIMON LONGSTAFF: I think it’s something which is conditioned. I think, we're not talking about monsters here. We're talking about you know moderately decent people who just lose touch I think with where they stand in the world.